Door-operating mechanism



G. WEBB ET AL DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Dec. 3, 1929.

Filed Oct. 16. 1925 Patented Dec. 3, 1929 UNITED STATES amen PATENTQFFHQE GEORGE WEBB, OF WEST HARTFORD, AND FRANK JENKS, 0F HARTFORD,CONNECTI- CUT, ASSIGNORS TO COLTS PATENT FIRE ARMS MANUFACTURINGCOMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUTDOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM Application filed October 16, 1925. Serial No.62,857.

A door operating mechanism embodying the invention is particularlyadapted for use in a dish washing machine of that class in which thewashing and rinsing liquids are sprayed or otherwise thrown against thearticles being washed while the same are located inside of an enclosedcasing or cabinet.

In this class of dish washing machines, a vertically slidable door ordoors are commonly provided to permit the insertion and removal of thearticles being washed, but which are closed during the washing andrinsing operation to confine the washing and rinsing fluids within thecasing.

Heretofore, to provide for ease of operation the door or doors have beenpartially counterbalanced by weights connected to the doors by means ofchains passing over a pulley or pulleys, but the use of such weights isobjectionable for several reasons. If the doors are rapidly opened, themomentum of the weights is very liable to break the chains. If theweight is arranged inside the casing, it is then diflicult to recover itfrom the bottom of the casing, and if arranged on the outside of thecasing the weight is liable to injure the operator or otherwise causedamage when torn from its chain. If the weight is arranged at the backof the machine near a wall, its path is liable to be stopped by anyobstruction thrown back of the machine by a careless operator, whichobstruction will interfere with the operation of the doors untilremoved.

One object of the invention is to overcome these and other disadvantagesby providing a novel improved door operating means for machines of thisclass, which dispenses with the use of weights, while, at the same time,re

taining the advantages of such weights inproviding ease of operation.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a manuallyoperable mechanism for opening and closing the doors located in animproved and more convenient relationship to the other parts of the dishwashing machine.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide a door openingand closing mechanism for a dish washing machine having an operatinglever arranged in a novel and im proved way.

Still another specific object of the invention is to provide a dooroperating mechanism having an improved spring means connected with thedoor or doors.

Still further objects of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawings we have illustrated the invention asapplied to a dish washing machine of the class already referred to. Itwill be understood that the de tails of the door operating mechanismitself may be varied and that the particular embodiment of the inventionshown has been selected merely for purposes of illustration and that thedrawings are not to be construed as definingor limiting the invention,the claims forming a part of this specification being relied upon forthatpurpose.

Of the drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a washing machineembodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine with the door operating mechanismin closed position;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the machine, with parts broken to exposethe dooroperating mechanism in its closed position. In this view theends of the chains, secured to the lever, are not shown, and the righthand chain is not shown traversing the double pulley;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view showing the door operating lever stop;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the chain connection on the dooroperating handle;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical view of the parts shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged inside view of the chain connection to a door;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged vertical central section through the lower portionof the door adjacent casing parts; and

Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertical view of a portion of the operating leverand pivot and with parts of the machine thereabout broken away.

Referring to the several figures of the 1 Oil drawing, in whichcorresponding parts are indicated by the same reference characters.

In the embodiment of the invention selected for illustration there isshown a dish washing machine having casing or cabinet 1 substantiallyrectangular incross-section, the lower part of which contains a tank 2for holding washing and rinsing liquids and the upper portion of whichis provided with supporting rails or devices 8 for the articles to becleaned. The usual means are provided for treating the articles with thecleaning liquids while so supported, comprising motor 4 and liquidcirculating pipes 5 and 6. The pipe 5 is connected with suitable spraydevices, such as 5*, adapted to deliver the washing liquid againstdishes supported by the said supporting devices 3. To permit the aricl'es to be inserted at one side of the machine, one side wall isprovided with a large opening normally closed by a door 7 which ispreferably sl-idable. In order that the articles may be removed at theother side, the wall at the said other side is preferably provided witha similar large opening also normally closed by a similar door 7.Adjacentthe openings in the casing for the insertion and removal of thearticles being washed, suitable tables not shown) may be provided tofacilitate the handling of the articles when placed in or removed fromthe machine.

\Vhentwo doors are provided as shown we provide a door opening andclosing mechanism having its major portions behindthe front wall of thecasing but including an operating lever which extends in front of thefront wall so as to be conveniently accessible for manual operation. Inorder to protect the said mechanism from the action of the spray devicesthere is preferably provided a partition within the casing which forms aseparate chamber for the mechanism.

Preferably the door opening and closing mechanism is located at the topof the casing above the spray devices, and when it is so locatesv all ofthe principal parts thereof are movable horizontally and the partition,when provided, is a horizontal one forming a transv rse chamber at thetop of the casing. illustrated, the sides of the casing 1 are extendedupwardly some distance above, the top of the cleaning: compartment andin one side of this upwardly extending portion adjacent the operatorsposition is provided a horizontal slot 8 through. which projects, thehandle 9 of the operating lever 10 for the doors 7. 7. This operatinglever'is pivoted at 11 adjacent the opposite side of the casing, (seeFigs. 2 and 9) and is connected to the respective. doors by flexibletension elements, such as chains 12 and 13-. The chains have theirrespective ends secured near the free end of the lever, as shown in- 5and 6, and they pass over a suitable double guiding pulley 14 and oversingle pulleys 15 and 16 to the lower portions of the doors. The lowerends of the chains are secured to the respective doors in any suitablemanner for eXam ple as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

From this construction it will be seen that the operator can readilyopen both doors by grasping the handle of the lever and throwing it tothe left, where it is conveniently held in the open positionby a lug 17,provided at the bottom of the slot 8 in which the lever moves. Thelever being of considerable length has sufiicient play on. its pivot 11to allow it to drop behind this lug without attention on the part of theoperator. The operator, when he is ready to close the machine, merelystrikes the lever handle a light blow from below in grasping it, whichreleases it from its lug permitting the doors to close, assisted bygravity, under the control of the operator. 7

The before mentioned horizontal partition is shown at 17 and it forms achamber at the top of the chsing in which the principal parts of thedoor raising and lowering mechanism are located. This partition entirelyprotected the said mechanism from the action of the spray devices. A

Preferably one or more springs are provided to partly counterbalance thedoor or doors. lVhen there are two doors we preferably provide a commonspring means or a single group of springs connected with both doors soas to tend to raise them. lVe also prefer, whether there is one door ortwo doors, to use coil" springs located in horizontal positions andabove the spray devices. When the door raising and lowering mechanism iscon structed as already described the springs may be combined therewithin the manner to be now described.

One or moresprings 18 are arranged to extend horizontally in the casing,being SQ.

cured at one end to a fixed abutment 19 on the inside of the sidewall ofthe casingand h aving its opposite end secured to a flexible tensionelement such as a chain 20 which passes around a guiding pulley 21arranged adja cent the opposite wall of the housing, and

any one of which the end of the chain may be detachably connected-l Itwill be observed" that the springs 18 have their ends at opposite sidesof the lever- 10, connection with the lever being made through the chainQO'as already stated. This construction enables usto provide much longersprings thangwould be possible if the springs were connected dire ctlyto the lever.

By the construction herein described, the tension of the springisobv-iouslyat its maxi mum when the doors are closed, so that theeffort required for starting the doors from rest in opening them issmall. After the doors have been started, it will be evident that littleeffort will be required to continue the opening movement even though thetension of the spring is decreased as the doors approach the openposition. This lessening of the tension is in fact, desirable to avoidthe slamming of the doors when they reach their full open position,which would be liable to result where a weighted counterbalance isemployed.

A plurality of springs, two in number as shown, are preferably employedto insure that all of the counterbalancing effect is not destroyedshould one spring break. I

The top of the housing containing the door opera-ting means ispreferably closed by a removable cover, (not shown) thereby permittingready access to the parts enclosed therein when necessary or desirable.

lVe do not herein claim as part of our present invention the washingmachine which we have shown and described as this constitutes thesubject matter of our copending application, Serial No. 120,710, filedJuly 6, 1926. The said application relates to the washing machine as anentirety, whereas the present application is restricted to a dooroperating mechanism adapted for use in a washing machine of the typedescribed.

lVhat we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a closure operating mechanism for dish washing apparatus of thekind comprising a rectangular casing provided with front and back wallsand with side walls having similar large openings formed thereinrespectively and movable doors closing the said openings respectively,the combination with the said doors of a mechanism adapted forsimultaneously opening or closing both of them and including a manuallyoperable lever, all parts of the said mechanism other than the saidlever being behindthe said front wall and the said lever extending infront of the said front wall so as to be readily accessible.

2. In a closure operating mechanism for dish washing apparatus of thekind comprising a rectangular casing provided with front and back wallsand with side walls having similar large openings formed thereinrespectively and movable doors closing the said openings respectively,the combination with the said doors of a mechanism adapted forsimultaneously opening or closing both of them and including a manuallyoperable lever, all parts of the said mechanism other than the saidlever being inside the upper portion of the casing and the said leverextending in front of the said front walls so as to be readilyaccessible, and a partition in the casing immediately below thesaidmechanism and forming a chamber therefor separate from the lower portionof the said casing.

3. In a closure operating mechanism for dish washing apparatus of thekind comprising a rectangular casing provided with front and back wallsand with side walls having similar large openings formed therein respectively and two vertically slidable doors normally closing the saidopenings respectively, the combination with the said doors of a manuallyoperable horizontally movable lever carried by the casing inside theupper portion thereof and between the planes of the said'opposite sidewalls, and means connecting both of the doors with the said lever sothat. they will be raised or lowered in unison when the lever is moved.

4. In a closure operating mechanism for dish washing apparatus of thekind comprising a rectangular casing provided with front and back wallsand with side walls having similar large openings formed thereinrespectively and two vertically slidable doors normally closing the saidopenings respectively, the combination with the said doors of a leverlocated inside the upper portion of the casing and pivoted to the backwall for horizontal movement about a vertical axis, the said leverprojecting forward in front of the plane of thefront wall and beingmanually movable transversely between the planes of the side walls, andmeans connecting both of the doors with the said lever so that they willbe raised or lowered in unison when the lever is moved.

5. In a closure operating mechanism for dish washing apparatus of thekind comprising a rectangular casing provided with front and back wallsand with side walls having similar large openings formed thereinrespectively and two vertically slidable doors normally closing the saidopenings respectively, the combination with the said doors of a manuallyoperable horizontally movable lever carried by the casing within theupper portion thereof and between the planes of the said opposite walls,two flexible tension ele ments each connected at one end to'one of thedoors and each connected at the other end to the lever, both of the saidelements initially extending in the same direction from the lever, andguide pulleys over which the said elements extend between the said leverand the said doors.

6. In a closure operating mechanism for dish washing apparatus of thekind comprising a rectangular casing provided with front and back'wallsand with side walls having similar large openings formed thereinrespectively and two vertically slidable doors normally closing the saidopenings respectively, the combination with the said doors of a dooroperating mechanism including. a common spring means carried by thecasing adjacent the top thereof and connected with'both doors so as totend to raise them.

7. In a door operating mechanism, the combination of a casing having atleast one vertical side wall with a large opening therein, a movabledoor normally closing the said opening, a manually operable horizontallymovable lever carried by the casing, means connecting the said door withthe said lever so that it will be opened or closed when the lever ismoved, and a manually releasable means adapted to automatically engageand hold the lever when it reaches a position corresponding to the openposition of the door.

8. In a door operating mechanism, the combination of a casing having atleastone vertical side wall with a large opening therein, a movable doornormally closing the, said opening, a manually operable lever carried bythe casing and normally movable horizontally, the said lever being alsomovable vertically to a limited extent, means connecting the said doorwith the said lever so that it will be opened or closed when the leveris moved horizontally, and a manually releasable means adapted toautomatically engage and hold the lever when it reaches a positioncorresponding to the open position of the door, the said means beingmanually disengaged by manual movement of the lever vertically.

9. 'In a door operating mechanism, the combination of a casing having atleast one vertical side wall with a large opening therein, a verticallyslidable door normally closing the said opening, and a mechanismincluding a horizontal coil spring connectedwith the door so as'to tendto raise it.

10. In a door operating mechanism, the combination of a casing havingtwo opposite vertical side walls respectively having similar largeopenings therein, two vertically slidable doors normally closing thesaid openings respectively, and a mechanism including a horizontal coilspring connected with both doors so as to tend to raise them.

11. In a door operating mechanism, the

the lever is moved, and a horizontal coil spring connected with thelever so as to tend to move it in the door-opening direction.

12. In a door operating mechanism, the

combination of a casing having at least one vertical side wall with alarge opening there- Y in, a vertically slidable door normally closingthe said opening, a manually operable horizontally movable lever carriedby thecasing, means connecting the'said door with the said lever so thatit will be raised or lowered when the lever is moved, a horizontal coilspring located with its ends at opposite sides of the lever and with oneend fixedly con nected with the casing, and means including a flexibletension element and a pulley for connecting the other end of the springwith the lever so as to tend to move it in the dooropening direction.

13. In a door operating mechanism, the combination of a casing havingtwo opposite verticalside walls respectively having similar largeopenings therein, two vertically slidable doors normally closing thesaid openings respectively, a manually operable horizontally movablelever carried by the casing between the planes of the said opposite sidewalls, and a horizontal coil spring connected with the lever so as totend to move it in the dooropening direction.

14. In a door operating mechanism, the combination or" a casing havingtwo opposite vertical side walls respectively having similar largeopenings therein, two vertically slid'able doors normally closing thesaid openings respectively, ainanually operable horizontally movablelever carried by the casing between the planes of the said opposite sidewalls, means connectinglboth of the doors with the said lever so thatthey willbe raised or lowered in unison when the lever is moved, ahorizontal coil spring located with its ends at opposite sides of thelever and with one end fixedly connected with the casing, and meansincluding a flexible tension element and a pulley for connecting theother end of the spring with the lever so as to tend to move it in thedoor-opening direction.

This specification signed this 10th day of October, A. D. 1925. V V

- GEORGE WEBB.

. FRANK D. JENKS.

